The various alloys which are used for dentistry and jewelry must be malleable, and castable at the usual temperatures in order to permit the formation of intricate shapes. Also, such alloys should provide a material which does not easily corrode, in a manner imitative of the pure noble metals.
It is of course basic that gold is one of the most valuable of metals, and is widely used in jewelry, dental inlays and the like. The look of gold is a highly valued characteristic of any metal alloy, particularly in the jewelry and dental material area.
In accordance with this invention, an alloy is provided which contains little or no gold, and yet which provides an alloy material that polishes, works, and looks like gold. Also, the alloy of this invention can be corrosion resistant in the manner of gold, even in the presence of acids such as hydrochloric acid. In the dental field, preferred alloys of this invention may be finished in the manner of regular crown and bridge gold alloys, and may be invested and casted by techniques similar to those used with known gold alloys.
The alloy of this invention may resemble 10K gold in color, for example, but also has the remarkable tendency to have a variable color depending upon its environment, being yellower in the presence of yellow walls and whiter in the presence of white walls, in a manner presenting interesting possibilities for jewelry work. Furthermore, the high corrosion resistance of preferred alloys of this invention is equal or superior to the lower karat gold alloys, even though only a little gold may be present in the alloy of this invention.
To these advantages is added the fact that the alloy of this invention may be substantially cheaper than most gold alloys, while providing the user with most of the beneficial characteristics of gold.